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Romania Cashes In On The Legend Of Count Dracula
Bucharest, Apr 11: Romania is planning to build a Disneyland-style Dracula Park in Snagov, north of Bucharest, hoping to attract one million visitors a year and finally capitalise on one of its most recognisable names.
Bucharest, Apr 11: Romania is planning to build a Disneyland-style Dracula Park in Snagov, north of Bucharest, hoping to attract one million visitors a year and finally capitalise on one of its most recognisable names.
Horror rides, catacombs and a vampirology institute are included in the plans for the 300 hectare, $30 million theme park which will be built on state land with private funds in an effort to lure tourists to the poor Balkan country.
Most Romanians know Prince Vlad Tepes the Impaler as a 15th Century hero who fought off Ottoman invaders and defended Christendom until his death at 49 in 1477.
Although the medieval Vlad was no vampire and the undead creatures are not part of Romanias otherwise rich occult tradition, his cruelty and name inspired the fictional Dracula.
But few locals had heard of the vampire Count before 1990, when Bram Stoker`s gothic novel was first translated in Romanian.
Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, toppled in a bloody revolt in 1989, had previously banned the count. Set in the late 1800s, the novel about a vampire who leaves his remote castle in the Borgo Pass near Bistritsa in northern Transylvania to feed in the crowded streets of London has inspired dozens of movies and a cult following.
The park`s initial location in the Carpathian Mountains near the medieval town of Sighisoara, Vlads birthplace, prompted heated reactions from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) andconservationists who said the park`s kitsch would spoil the area`s historic ambiance.
The government hired advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers, which ended the argument by picking the area near Snagov, 17 km (10.5 miles) from Otopeni airport and 40 km (25 miles) from the centre of the capital of 2.5 million residents, as the most appropriate.
The Tourism Ministry said it hoped an intense publicity campaign will bring about a million visitors annually by 2006 -- 20 percent from abroad.
"A lot of people, all over the world - analysts, specialists, presidents of tour operators, journalists - said that the project is original, non-conventional, even a shocking project," said Romania`s Minister of Tourism Dan Aghaton.
For locals, the park is good news. "As far as I heard, some 600 new jobs would be created. That`s great. That`s something beneficial for our area," said local farm guard Gavrila Bledea.
"It`s a good thing that the Dracula park will be done. There will be new jobs for people," added farmer Ioan Varga.
The mayor of Snagov, Teodor Biris, said he would welcome the project. "The history says that Romanian ruler Vlad Tepes was here, he is buried here in the nearby monastery. From an economic perspective, the park location is feasible because it is very close to the capital," he said.
Bucharest`s elite has built holiday villas around Snagov, whose local population of 7,000 rises to 50,000 in the summer. The only ones complaining are souvenier vendors at other locations associated with Dracula.
At the Bran Castle in the Carpathians, which tourists like to visit because it looks like the typical Hollywood horror backdrop, locals said Dracula belongs to their area, not the capital.
"I don`t think it`s a good idea because - maybe there will be airplane, maybe there will be more people, but here is a place that people know that Dracula was here," said one woman.
There is no historical evidence Vlad ever visited Bran but he did build a princely court in central Bucharest. "The whole of Romania is a Dracula park and our tourists visit all the regions following the story and seeing the country. But, if you set the Dracula park in one location, no matter which location, then you stop this flow of tourism throughout the country," said Nicolae Paduraru, President of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula.
The tourism ministry said international tour operators had already expressed interest in the park and pledged to begin tours on the first day it opens its doors in 2004.
"I think it is the time to put Dracula to work for Romania," said the tourism minister.
Bureau Report
Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, toppled in a bloody revolt in 1989, had previously banned the count. Set in the late 1800s, the novel about a vampire who leaves his remote castle in the Borgo Pass near Bistritsa in northern Transylvania to feed in the crowded streets of London has inspired dozens of movies and a cult following.
The park`s initial location in the Carpathian Mountains near the medieval town of Sighisoara, Vlads birthplace, prompted heated reactions from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) andconservationists who said the park`s kitsch would spoil the area`s historic ambiance.
The government hired advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers, which ended the argument by picking the area near Snagov, 17 km (10.5 miles) from Otopeni airport and 40 km (25 miles) from the centre of the capital of 2.5 million residents, as the most appropriate.
The Tourism Ministry said it hoped an intense publicity campaign will bring about a million visitors annually by 2006 -- 20 percent from abroad.
"A lot of people, all over the world - analysts, specialists, presidents of tour operators, journalists - said that the project is original, non-conventional, even a shocking project," said Romania`s Minister of Tourism Dan Aghaton.
For locals, the park is good news. "As far as I heard, some 600 new jobs would be created. That`s great. That`s something beneficial for our area," said local farm guard Gavrila Bledea.
"It`s a good thing that the Dracula park will be done. There will be new jobs for people," added farmer Ioan Varga.
The mayor of Snagov, Teodor Biris, said he would welcome the project. "The history says that Romanian ruler Vlad Tepes was here, he is buried here in the nearby monastery. From an economic perspective, the park location is feasible because it is very close to the capital," he said.
Bucharest`s elite has built holiday villas around Snagov, whose local population of 7,000 rises to 50,000 in the summer. The only ones complaining are souvenier vendors at other locations associated with Dracula.
At the Bran Castle in the Carpathians, which tourists like to visit because it looks like the typical Hollywood horror backdrop, locals said Dracula belongs to their area, not the capital.
"I don`t think it`s a good idea because - maybe there will be airplane, maybe there will be more people, but here is a place that people know that Dracula was here," said one woman.
There is no historical evidence Vlad ever visited Bran but he did build a princely court in central Bucharest. "The whole of Romania is a Dracula park and our tourists visit all the regions following the story and seeing the country. But, if you set the Dracula park in one location, no matter which location, then you stop this flow of tourism throughout the country," said Nicolae Paduraru, President of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula.
The tourism ministry said international tour operators had already expressed interest in the park and pledged to begin tours on the first day it opens its doors in 2004.
"I think it is the time to put Dracula to work for Romania," said the tourism minister.
Bureau Report